What’s New at Mohawk Hudson AMC

Happy New Year!

2015 has had a great start. In spite of cold temperatures, we have experienced some enjoyable outdoor activities, and look forward to many more. Don’t wait until the season is over to get outdoors. Check our calendar to see what’s coming up,

Are you a "young professional" member looking to connect with others like you for evening and weekend outings? If so, please contact our Chapter Chair (see "Chapter Info/Executive Committee").

Are you curious about membership, or want to get more out of your membership? Come to our new member (and curious others) pizza party on March 12. We especially welcome new members, and non-members who are curious about AMC, to this event. For planning, we need you to sign up. Click on the calendar entry for details.

If your New Year resolution involves being a more active volunteer, we have some wonderful opportunities: Are you a "techie"? Our Webmaster, who has been maintaining this site so effectively, is moving away and stepping down. We are desperately searching for a replacement. Please contact our Chapter Chair mfolsom@aol.com if you are interested. We would love to hear from you.

Our social media presence continues to grow, with 118 “likes” on Facebook, and a following of 152 on Meetup. Check us out.

Barberville Falls Preserve Opens Again

Barberville Falls is open to the public once again, at least until next Memorial Day

Ticks and Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is on the rise in our area and early detection and treatment is the key to avoid serious complications. First
it's important to thoroughly check for ticks, not only when you are outside but when you come in contact with a pet that
has been outside. Lyme disease is caused by bacterium found in the stomachs of infected ticks and it may take as
much as a day for the bacterium to make its way into your body. It's for this reason that the old tick removal
method of covering a tick with oil or grease is not recommended as this can cause the tick to regurgitate the contents of its stomach into your bloodstream.
The recommended method is to grasp the tick with a pair of tweezers as close to your skin as
possible and steadily pull it away.

If you have been infected with Lyme disease it's important to get treated as soon as possible as serious complications can arise if left untreated.
Unfortunately not everyone experiences the same symptoms and blood tests are slow and problematic. A "bull’s-eye" rash is often described as a symptom but
the vision of multiple concentric rings this conjures is inaccurate. This type of rash just means that you will have an irregularly shaped red blotch but the center will be pale.
This rash does not have to appear at all and may not appear at the site of the bite. Another type of rash that looks more like a bruise but will continue to increase in size and darkness can also occur.
A fever may also occur and any fever lasting 5 days is generally reason to see a doctor, tick bite or not. Other symptoms may include fatigue, headaches, muscle and/or joint pain, or swollen lymph nodes.

Here is a document on Lyme disease from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
here is a document created by the Rensselaer County Department of Health hosted by the Rensselaer Land Trust.